First responders want public safety agency control of spectrum block

Firefighting and law enforcement officials have urged Congress to allocate an available block of federal radio spectrum to the direct control of the public safety community rather than auctioning the spectrum with the idea that public safety would maintain access in emergencies.

“Local control of the network by public safety agencies is critical,” Chief Jack Parow, president of the International Association of Fire Chiefs, told the House Homeland Security Committee March 30. “We cannot have commercial providers deciding what is or is not an emergency or what is the priority.… The lives of our firefighters and medics depend on this necessity.”

“The time to act is now,” said Sheriff Paul Fitzgerald, first vice president of the National Sheriffs’ Association.

Committee Chairman Rep. Peter King (R-N.Y.) introduced a bill in February that would reallocate the D block directly to public safety agencies. President Barack Obama has also endorsed the reallocation approach.

However, radio spectrum policy is under the jurisdiction of the House Energy and Commerce Committee. Several members of that committee support the Federal Communications Commission’s plan to auction the spectrum to commercial carriers, which would be required to prioritize public safety during emergencies.

The D block consists of 10 MHz of spectrum in the upper 700 MHz band. It is adjacent to another band controlled by public safety.

The public safety community has been requesting additional spectrum for more than a decade, but the issue gained momentum after the 2001 terrorist attacks, when the lack of interoperable communications systems among first responders at the World Trade Center was believed to be a contributing factor in firefighter deaths.

The FCC attempted to auction off the D block in 2008 with the stipulation that the buyer give priority to public safety, but the minimum bid was not met.

In related news, the two chairmen of the 9-11 Commission today endorsed direct allocation of the airwaves to public safety agencies, according toan article in The Hill newspaper.

Former New Jersey Gov. Tom Kean and former Rep. Lee Hamilton (D-Ind.) had previously been invoked as presumed supporters of a D block auction, the newspaper said.

About the Author

Alice Lipowicz is a staff writer covering government 2.0, homeland security and other IT policies for Federal Computer Week.

FCW investigated efforts by the departments of Defense and Veterans Affairs to improve a joint data repository on military and veteran suicides. Something as impersonal and mundane as incomplete datasets could be exacerbating a national tragedy.

The National Information Exchange Model's usefulness extends far beyond its origins in justice and law enforcement.

Reader comments

Tue, Apr 5, 2011
Taxpayer and Consumer

The commercial sector made out like bandits when we were all forced to change over to HDTV so that first responders could more bandwidth. Now FCC make sure that THEY get it. Not the commercial sector.

Fri, Apr 1, 2011
RayW

What the article fails to mention is that as part of the deal, a substantial portion of the 400 MHz used by the military and first responders such as Ham Radio and other local units and volunteers is to be ripped away and sold to the highest commercial bidder.

One problem that has been ignored is that FCC rules requires all control frequencies to be above about 220 MHz, and the 400 band due to the availability of cheap second hand commercial radios has been the main focus for that and it also is a large segment of the emergency repeater system Hams use. So not only by killing 400 MHz for efficient use, it also affects the 28 MHz, 50 MHz, and 144 MHz areas. And considering that other countries will still be using the 420-440 spectrum, that will make the US unique in that area and will probably essentially price volunteers out of the radio market for many radios.

All because some elected non-technical official saw a way to make a few dollars temporarily for the general fund at the cost of a lot of dollars to others. Look around at what the IARU has for UHF band plans and work with the rest of the world on keeping standards standard.

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